Direct Mail Marketing: How to Choose a Postcard Vendor

by Brandon Cornett

Direct mail postcards can help you promote your business easily, effectively and affordably. But to capitalize on these benefits, you need a reliable and efficient program in place. That’s where postcard marketing vendors come into the picture.

Here are some key points to help you evaluate postcard marketing vendors:

Design Options
As far as your prospects are concerned, your direct mail postcards reflect your company as a whole. So design matters. Ask vendors what kind of design options they have. Some will offer a variety of design options to match the varying skill levels of their customers.

Some common design offerings include:

➢ Web-based design tools
➢ Complete design templates that customers can personalize
➢ The ability for customers to upload their own designs
➢ Stock images for customers to use
➢ The ability for customers to proof their designs online before checkout

Choose a vendor that offers at least two of these design options. If you find one that offers all of them, even better!

List Options
Most marketers maintain an in-house database of customers and/or prospects. So when reviewing postcard marketing vendors, ask if you can upload your own list. This is a common offering, but it’s best to make sure.

But what if you don’t have a mailing list? In such cases, you’ll need a vendor who offers some way to build a list online. This kind of feature is not as common as the “use your own” approach, so when you find a vendor who offers this, write them down for further consideration.

Then proceed to evaluate them based on the other checkpoints in this guide.

Mailing Options
Another consideration: what if you only want your postcards printed, but you’d rather stamp and mail them yourself (for a more personal touch)? Some vendors will print and mail your postcards to your list, but they won’t print and ship them to you. If you see yourself needing both options, ask about it in advance.

Pricing Structure
You would think postcard pricing would be straightforward. But in truth, there are a number of variables to consider and questions to ask.

For example, some postcard marketing vendors have "base pricing" that does not include things like two-sided color or postage. In such cases, you have to do a bit of math to figure out the true cost per postcard. Other vendors have an "all included" price that accounts for design work, full color on both sides, and postage (no math!).

Ease of Use
Even if a postcard marketing vendor scores well in all other areas, it won’t matter if you can’t figure out how to use their service. The technical term for this is "usability."

First and foremost, find out if the service is entirely web-based or not. After all, the whole idea of using a vendor is to pass the logistical burden over to them, right? You should be able to place a postcard marketing order from your home or office computer. In this age of Internet commerce, there’s no reason not to have this ability.

Conclusion
Direct mail marketing with postcards can be an affordable, effective part of your overall marketing program. But to get the most out of it, you need to find a vendor who's right for you. Use this guide to evaluate postcard marketing vendors. Choose wisely, and your direct mail postcard program will be easier to manage, more effective, and more professional.

Good luck and good marketing!

-Brandon from PostcardSmart.com